One of the highlights for all cruisers is the Hamburg Cruise Days, which take place every two years. The maritime cultural event took place for the eighth time from 19 to 21 August 2022.
Blue – the colour of the sky and the oceans
With Blue Port Hamburg, the sight of the city changes and bathes it in a blue light. Various light installations by light artist Michael Batz traditionally give Hamburg a blue glow, alluding to the colours of the sea and the sky.
Images: Hamburg Cruise Days
In addition, this year two cruise liners invited visitors to dance. The AIDAprima and the MSC Magnifica were staged in an artistic multimedia production. With the help of light, drones and music, an impressive evening rendezvous of the two cruise ships was created between the Elbphilharmonie and Landungsbrücken. Pure atmosphere, an impressive pas de deux of two cruise liners, translated into images of dancing lightness.
Lighting design with ELATION Professional
The lighting design for this impressive show was created by Flo Erdmann on behalf of JP SPACES. Among other things, 48 of ELATION Professional’s ultra-bright Proteus Excalibur beamlights were used. A light ensemble designed on an open space at the Stage Theater with weatherproof beamlights offered the possibility to project drone images onto the night sky as well as to support the “Pas de deux” of the ships. And equally, it served as a stand-alone lighting installation.
For the installation, the 48 high-power moving lights were arranged in two concentric circles of eight and 20 metres in diameter. This created an eye-catching light sculpture visible from afar, enthroned above the unique backdrop of Hamburg harbour coloured in blue.
The use of the new ELATION power packs was also new for Erdmann. The enormous output in combination with a 260 millimetre optic that enables a 0.8° beam allows the Proteus Excalibur to rival existing xenon searchlights and sky trackers.
The incredible light output of up to 200,000 lux at 20 metres (7,500 at 100 metres) convinced the designer to use this compact and fast unit.
“In my opinion, the Proteus Excalibur is currently unique in its performance class and cannot be replaced by any other lamp in terms of output and look,” says Flo Erdmann. “Added to this is the proven weatherproof design of the Proteus series, which is indispensable in the proverbial ‘Hamburg heavy weather’.”
The good experience of the project in Hamburg harbour immediately inspired the designer to start new projects with the Excalibur.
“I liked the result so much that I directly specified the Excalibur again for follow-up productions. For me, it is currently the spearhead of the outdoor beamlights available on the market.”
Meanwhile, JP SPACES was responsible for project management within the framework of the production. This included project management, budget responsibility as well as parts of the conception, technical elaboration, direction and coordination of all involved trades.
